November 2, 2022 Ferndale with Friends

We met Nora and Dennis at the Casino and they took us to Ferndale.

The Casino:

The view of the valley from the casino:

“The entire town of Ferndale is designated California Historical Landmark No. 883 - and a dreamland for tourists and history buffs alike.

The tiny dairy town of Ferndale on the Redwood Coast is home to some of the most ornate, well-preserved Victorian architecture in the United States; in fact, our entire town resides on the Register of Historic Places. Step back in time with the magnificent facades of Main Street's Painted Ladies and neighborhoods lined with row after row of Queen Anne, Eastlake-Stick, Italianate, Neo-Classic, Bungalow and Mission style homes with lovingly-tended gardens, and it's easy to see why Forbes calls Ferndale one of America's prettiest places.

One of the most photographed historic cemeteries in California, the Ferndale Cemetery rambles romantically over a steep, Rhododendron-studded hillside just two blocks from Main Street.”

Our first stop was the cemetery – very interesting.  It was started on the hill in 1898 and was not affected by the floods:

The views from the top were breathtaking:

One of the farms in the valley – the white along the horizon is the ocean:

From there we parked and walked.  The buildings and town was so quaint.

The old time post office – still in use:

I thought this was an interesting photo since the bird is real.  He was squawking!

This building was used as the hospital in the movie “Outbreak”:

We learned that this is Guy Fieri’s hometown and he owns a few building and helps out the community:

https://www.visitferndale.com/blog/5-reasons-guy-fieri-loves-ferndale

We went thru a few shops and then had lunch at a local pizza restaurant – the lasagna was yummy!  Nora bought us dessert at the Casino – Yummy too – thank you.

Thank you Nora and Dennis for the great time.  It was good to see you and hopefully we will be back this way again.

Tomorrow we are heading south, then east, then south so stay tuned and enjoy today.

October 30 – 31, 2022 Travel to Eureka and Stuff

October 30, 2022

This morning after dumping our tanks we were on our way south.

Past the ocean:

Into the marine layer:

Past more beaches:

Into the coastal redwoods:

Many logging trucks:

We followed US-101 that took us near the ocean then into the mountains and then the ocean and back into the mountains – it was just beautiful.

Went thru the marine layer a couple times too:

 

Back to the beach:

And then thru the flat farming areas near the coast:

We are staying at the Eureka Moose Lodge for a few days.   The sites are situated between the Redwoods behind the lodge – can you believe I did not take a picture.

We are here to see more Redwoods and spend time with our friends Nora and Dennis who we met in Casa Grande many years ago.  They are now living in Fortuna, a few miles south of here and we hope to see them on Tuesday.

They have an In-and-Out Burger here so after visiting the Lodge, that is where we went for supper – YUM!

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 86 Miles

Routes Traveled:

California: King Street; US-101; H-Street; Campton Road

October 31, 2022

This morning was laundry day – Sheesh!  My favorite job on the road – NOT.  But it feels good when it is done.

Dennis stopped by with our mail and we spent the rest of the day going thru that.

Tomorrow we are getting together and playing tourist so stay tuned and enjoy today.

 

 

 

 

October 28 Part 2 - 29, 2022 Pebble Beach Road and Last Day Here

After we left Stout Grove, we headed over to Pebble Beach Road.

Battery Lighthouse:

AWWWW!

He was singing to me – :

These beaches are so beautiful:

In the middle of the picture is Point Saint George:

This was taken at Point Saint George:

“Point St. George is a prominent rocky point about three miles north of Crescent City. The Point is where the St. George Reef Lighthouse keepers lived when they were ashore back when this lighthouse was manned (from 1891 until 1975). In 1995, it was decommissioned and completely abandoned. The historic lighthouse is six miles offshore on the Dragon Rocks northwest of the point, but it is visible in the distance on a clear day (bring binoculars or a telephoto camera lens). This lighthouse, which is one of the tallest in California, is under restoration by a non-profit group who intends to provide tours by helicopter.”

Currently the lighthouse and the house is under restoration and off limits.

As we headed off the Point – Oh My Goodness – Look who was along the road:

Aren’t they just the cutest!

We finished this awesome day by having dinner at the local Elks Lodge – Yum.

October 29, 2022

Last night was a long night of the foghorn every minute and even the seals honking – we can hear them when it is very quiet.  So I did not get much sleep – Oh my!

Today is our last night here.  It has been a great week of being near the ocean and the Redwoods. 

This RV Park was rated average but I would stay here again.  It is not a destination park but for us as a base, it was wonderful and reasonable too.

Today was spent getting some things done around the motorhome, grocery shopping, and deciding where to go – still watching that storm..

Tomorrow we head further south so stay tuned and enjoy today.

 

October 28, 2022 Part 1 Stout Grove

We were told that we should not miss the Stout Grove Trail so that was our first stop today.

“Stout Grove is the world’s most scenic stand of redwoods. It’s not all that large, and it doesn’t have the biggest trees, but for sheer photogenic beauty nothing beats this extraordinary grove on a sunny afternoon.

Located on a small floodplain at the confluence of two rivers, Stout Grove is a quintessential alluvial-flat grove, with an otherworldly, cathedral-like majesty. There are quite a few good-sized trees here, although the Stout Tree with its distinctively rippled bark dwarfs all the others. The trees are all redwoods, with no understory of tanoak or other small trees to obscure the views. The redwoods are densely packed, especially at the west end of the grove. A perfect, plush, lawn-like layer of ferns and redwood sorrel carpets the ground.”

The road to the trail:

What a beautiful place – Majestic!

Burls:

It was so so quiet as we walked thru the trees.  I felt like I was in church – I guess I was!

The redwoods do not have deep roots.  They are very shallow but expand outward:

Andy would love to cut this up for firewood – LOL!

Roots and Burls:

What a magical place!  There are truly no words to describe it and I am so glad we went.

Our day continued in Part 2 so stay tuned and enjoy today.